Job Title · City Detail
Justice Salary in Houston, Texas
In Houston, the State of Texas reports 8 public employees holding the JUSTICE classification. Average annual base pay is $221,375, with a median of $221,375 and a range from $211,750 to $231,000. The largest employer of this title in Houston is FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT.
How Houston compares for the JUSTICE role
Across all of Texas state government, the average base pay for the JUSTICE classification is $227,060, calculated from 50 employees in 6+ agencies statewide. In Houston specifically the average sits at $221,375, which runs about 3% below the statewide figure for this role — a difference of $5,685 per year between an average Houston incumbent and an average Texas incumbent in the same classification. That gap is consistent with what you would expect given the mix of employers active in Houston and the cost-of-living posture of the metro relative to other Texas cities.
Compared to all public-sector employees in Houston (regardless of title), the JUSTICE role pays about 0% less than the citywide average of $222,145. That places this title below the citywide average, which is common for support, technical, and entry-level state classifications — the citywide figure is pulled upward by the state's senior medical, judicial, executive, and academic-leadership salaries. For an apples-to-apples comparison against other roles in Houston, see our city profile for Houston or compare against the same title in other Texas cities via the JUSTICE hub.
Within Houston, the JUSTICE classification appears at 2 different state employers: FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT, FIRST COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT. The single largest employer is FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT, which accounts for 5 of the 8 reported records in this combination. Where multiple agencies employ the same classification, pay variation is normal — agencies set individual pay within the state classification plan's salary band based on tenure, market conditions, and any agency-specific salary supplements that have been authorized by the Legislature or by the agency's governing board.
Top Justices in Houston by pay
| Name | Agency | Annual pay | Hire date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Jewell | FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $231,000 | January 1, 2017 |
| Kenneth Wise | FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $231,000 | October 11, 2013 |
| Randall Wilson | FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $231,000 | January 11, 2021 |
| Kristin Guiney Mcclees | FIRST COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $231,000 | January 1, 2025 |
| Claudia Rivas | FIRST COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $211,750 | January 1, 2021 |
| Bradley Hart | FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $211,750 | January 1, 2025 |
| Amparo Guerra | FIRST COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $211,750 | January 1, 2021 |
| Chad Bridges | FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT | $211,750 | January 1, 2025 |
Reading this number in context
The annual pay column on this page reflects what the State of Texas reports as the employee’s annualized base salary at the time of the most recent payroll snapshot. It does not include benefits, retirement contributions (such as TRS or ERS employer contributions), longevity pay, hazardous-duty pay, paid leave cash-outs, contract buyouts, or any supplements paid out of foundation, athletic, or grant funds — categories that can add materially to total compensation, especially in academic medical centers and senior university roles. Use the figures here as an apples-to-apples baseline for comparison; treat them as the starting point of a conversation, not the final word.
Two employees in Houston with the same JUSTICE title can earn very different amounts for legitimate reasons. The State of Texas operates a position classification plan in which most titles map to a salary group with a defined minimum, midpoint, and maximum, and agencies are free to set individual pay anywhere within that band. Universities and elected-officials’ offices are exempt from the standard plan altogether and set pay independently. Tenure, prior agency service, market-pay adjustments approved under Texas Government Code Chapter 659, and acting-leadership stipends all contribute to within-title variation. For the full set of caveats, see our methodology.
If you want to compare what the JUSTICE role pays in other Texas cities, the JUSTICE hub aggregates every reported incumbent statewide. To see what other classifications pay in Houston, the Houston city profile breaks down the local mix of employers and titles. For peer roles, the job-titles index is the master list.